Hide and Seek
by Nerdy Nat
Summary: When the girls get captured, the boys go on a rampage. And a sacrifce makes way for book 2. This is "book" 1 in the Atlas Nightmare series. I didn't break it up into chapters because I posted this after it was finished.


Hide and Seek

Book 1 in the Atlas Nightmare Series

It was about 6:00 Saturday morning in Magnolia when Lucy kicked Natsu and Happy out of her house for about the thousandth time that week. The blonde had woken up to find her pink haired friend and the blue exceed (an exceed is a cat with wings basically) snoring in her livingroom.

She proceeded to shriek, "NATSU! HAPPY! GET OUT!"

"Just five more minutes…," Natsu mumbled in his sleep.

"No! Now get out of my house! How many times do I have to tell you guys to stop breaking into my house at night!" She asked, quieter this time.

"Do you want me to answer or leave?" he quipped back.

Lucy glared and threw a pillow at him.

"Natsu! Come back when you have a job for our team," Lucy said.

"I already do. We're teaming up with Lisanna and team Shadowgear." Natsu answered, sitting up criss-cross style.

"Really? Which job needed so many people?" she asked "Not that I'm complaining about teaming up with Levy and the others," she quickly added.

"The one in Hargeon. You know, the one with the 770,000 jewel reward. The one that asked for a group of 11 wizards to go and help protect the mayor at a parade," said Natsu.

"Ohhh. But my share barely even covers my rent!" Lucy cried.

"I'll give you some of our money since Happy and I only need it for food," said Natsu.

"Hey! What about all the extra fishies I want to eat Natsu?!" Happy shouted, hovering in front of him.

"Happy, don't you remember anything Lucy tried to teach you about manners? You should share," Natsu said.

"She was trying to teach you too, ya know." Happy told Natsu.

"Yeah well I am actually sharing!" Natsu retorted!

Lucy rolled her eyes. Who was he to talk about manners when he broke into her house?

 **Meanwhile with the rest of team Natsu (Gray, Juvia, Erza, Wendy, and Carla) and team Shadowgear (Levy, Jet, Droy, Gajeel, and Pantherlily) and Lisanna...**

"So, when do you think Natsu, Lucy, and Happy are going to get here?" Gray asked.

"Gray your shirt!" squealed Levy.

"Huh?" he looked down "HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?" he was known for having an odd habit of stripping to his underwear, due to his training as a kid. His teacher would force him to get used to the cold by jogging in the snow in just his underwear. Good thing it was only his shirt this time. Juvia was blushing and smiling. She was known for having a crush on Gray….in fact it was extremely obvious with the stalking and the gray plushies….let's just leave it there.

"Gray, don't you trust Natsu? I for one have complete faith in our comrades," Erza said.

"Yeah, but Natsu is known for being reckless and late," Gray answered, putting on his shirt.

"I think we should go get Happy, Natsu and Lucy before they miss the train," said Wendy.

"No. We don't need to," Gajeel said.

"What makes you say that?" Wendy asked.

"Salamander and Blondie are at the door" He answered.

"Hey guys!" shouted Natsu with his classic grin.

"What took you so long?!" Erza demanded.

"Well, Lucy took soooooo long yelling at me and Natsu to get out it was hours before we could even mention the job," Happy said.

"Don't exaggerate!" yelled Lucy.

"And besides, we aren't even late," Natsu added.

"Stop dawdling! We need to get to the train station!" Erza yelled from the door.

"Aye sir!" Natsu and Gray said in unison. (Though when Erza turned her back they were staring daggers at each other)

"Oh come on! You two have to stop doing those bad Happy impressions when Erza is around. She's way less scary than when I first joined the guild," Lucy said to Gray and Natsu, remembering when she first met the requip mage.

 **Later on the train to Hargeon...**

"Whew. We made it," sighed Lisanna.

"No thanks to someone" Jet added glancing at Happy and Natsu. Happy had forgotten his fish and he and Natsu had to be dragged onto the train by Erza. Natsu didn't enjoy transportation due to his motion sickness.

"The important thing is we should be in Hargeon by 10," Erza said.

"Excuse me. We have an announcement," the conductor said from the speaker lacrima. A lacrima is basically a magic crystal that can be used for different things. "We will not arrive in Hargeon until about 1:30 this afternoon due to some issues with the tracks."

"WHAT?!" they all shouted.

"Every one off the train! We are walking to Hargeon!" Erza declared.

"Yay!" Natsu said childishly while everyone else groaned.

 **Thirty minutes later...**

"Are we there yet?" Happy asked for about the fiftieth time.

"NO!" Everyone shouted in unison.

"Tomcat, I wish you would stop asking that. We get there when we get there," Carla said.

"Yeah, but my wings hurt and I'm hungry," Happy whined.

"Suck it up. It will only seem to take longer if you keep complaining," added Pantherlily.

"But I want a fishie!" Happy said.

"Well don't you always have some with you on jobs?" Pantherlily asked.

"I forgot them at home this time, remember?" answered Happy.

"It's your own fault. You should have remembered them, Tomcat," Carla said curtly. Happy sulked for the rest of the trip.

 **At the edge of Hargeon...**

Finally having reached Hargeon, the wizards checked into the hotel rooms. They paid for three days of use, and two rooms. One for the girls and one for the boys.

Lucy collapsed onto her bed, Levy was busy reading about Hargeon in the corner.

"Hey, Lucy?" Levy said.

"Yeah?"Lucy answered.

"Didn't you and Natsu meet here in Hargeon?" Levy asked.

"Yeah, we did. Natsu had saved me from this guy who was pretending to be 'the salamander' from Fairy Tail. Then Natsu, actually being a member of Fairy Tail, brought me back to the guild and I got to join," Lucy said.

"Awe. That's such a sweet story," Lisanna said smiling. She used to have a crush on Natsu but now… she wanted him and Lucy to get together

"Yeah, I guess it is," said Lucy turning slightly pink.

 **Meanwhile in the boy's room...**

"Yo, Salamander. Wake Up!" Gajeel shouted at Natsu from his bed across the room.

"Why?" Natsu asked.

"Because your snoring is keeping me awake!" Gajeel answered.

"Then put in earplugs," Natsu replied.

"I tried that. Your snoring is so loud that I bet all of Hargeon can hear it! And don't even get me started on Happy's snoring," said Gajeel.

"Hey! Nobody messes with my little buddy!" Natsu said menacingly as he and Gajeel lept up.

"Was that a threat?" asked Gajeel.

"Maybe it was if you keep insulting Happy," Natsu replied.

"Oh yeah? Well it is on! Pantherlily wakeup, Salamander just challenged us," Gajeel said.

"What's going on? Where are my kiwis?" Pantherlily asked, confused.

"It was a dream furball. Now help me take down Salamander and Happy." Gajeel said.

"Hey Ash Brains, Scrap Metal, could'ya keep it down? I'm trying to relax here," said Gray.

"YOU WANNA GO ICE PRINCESS?!" yelled Natsu.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" yelled Gajeel.

The Jet and Droy looked at each other, "This is gonna be a long night."

 **Back in the girl's room...**

"Hey Erza," Wendy said.

"Yes Wendy?" Erza replied.

"I was just thinking how beautiful Hargeon is," Wendy said.

"Yes. And they have some of the best strawberry cake too..." Erza said.

"Oh no what have you started her on now?" Carla asked.

"I don't know," Wendy replied.

"...and the strawberry cake is so amazing we shall not leave Hargeon until we have tried every single baker's strawberry cake," Erza's eyes were stars.

"er-Ok Erza. I think I'll just go to bed now," Wendy said.

"Good idea. I shall go to bed as well, we will need energy for our job tomorrow," Erza said.

"Juvia wonders what Gray-Sama is doing," Juvia said.

"Probably sleeping," Lisanna replied. Juvia had been talking about Gray all afternoon and Lisanna was getting tired of it.

"I think I'm going to take a walk…" said Lisanna slipping out the door.

Juvia was in "Gray land" so she didn't respond.

 **Outside...**

Lisanna was walking the route of the parade they were going to follow the next day. _I wonder how the others are doing_ she thought. When she was almost back at the hotel, a figure jumped out of the shadows.

 **Back in the boy's room...**

"AAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"What was that?!" Natsu said alarmed.

"I don't know do I?!" Gajeel said.

"It sounded like someone screaming," Natsu said.

"I think it came from outside," Gray added.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go see if everyone's alright!" Natsu said.

If anything had happened to Lucy he could never forgive himself.

 **Meanwhile in the girl's room...**

"Did you hear that?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah. It sounds like it came from outside," Wendy replied.

"Oh no! What if Gray-sama is out there?" Juvia asked frantically.

"I'm pretty sure that was not Gray," Lucy said flatly.

"Whoever it was we should go check it out and make sure everyone is safe," Erza said.

 **Outside...**

"What are you doing out here?!" Natsu asked the girls.

"Same as you. Finding out where that scream came from and what happened," Lucy replied.

Natsu was relieved that Lucy wasn't hurt. _But who screamed then?_ he wondered.

"Hey Shrimp," Gajeel said to Levy.

"What?" Levy asked, annoyed with her nickname from him.

"Don't get in the way," Gajeel said gruffly.

"And don't get hurt," he added as an afterthought, his eyes softening slightly.

"Ok. um, Thanks..." Levy said, touched by this unusually thoughtful comment from the iron dragon slayer.

"Hey, er- aren't we missing someone?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah, where's Lisanna?" asked Lucy.

"Juvia thinks she said something about going for a walk," Juvia answered.

"Do you think that was her screaming?" asked Droy, munching on a chicken leg, he always had food with him, and he seemed to very much love food, as anyone could tell by his size.

"If it was, then what happened to her?" Jet added. No one knew. Everyone was silent for a few seconds, staring with worried expressions on their faces.

"Let's give it until morning, if Lisanna is not back by then we will look for her. Lucy, if she does not come back can Gemini transform into Lisanna?" Erza asked.

"I don't think they've ever transformed into Lisanna, and they can only transform into people they've touched and have equal or less magic power than me," replied Lucy

"That's too bad. I see where Erza was going with that. She wanted Gemini to replace Lisanna in the parade if Lisanna does not come back," Gray said.

"Yeah. I got that," Lucy replied dryly.

" _Captain Obvious…_ " Natsu muttered.

 **The next morning in the girl's room...**

"Morning," Lucy said when she woke up. When there was no reply, Lucy looked around. _Where is everyone_ she thought.

 **In the boys room...**

 _Knock knock_

"Hey, that must be Lucy," Natsu said. "Come on in Lucy."

She came in and noticed Wendy, Erza, and Juvia were there with Natsu, Gajeel, Gray, and the exceeds.

"ERZA, WENDY, JUVIA, CARLA?! Why are you guys here? And where's Levy?" Lucy asked, surprised.

"When we woke up, Lisanna was still gone and Levy was missing. We came here to see if she was with the boys, but she wasn't. Jet and Droy went looking for Levy," replied Erza.

"Why are people disappearing like this?" asked Lucy.

"I don't know. But outside our room we found Levy's headband," Carla said.

"Why don't we ask to check the security lacrimas," Gray suggested.

"Yeah," Wendy agreed.

"Gray-sama is so smart," said Juvia.

"Sure..." Lucy said.

When everyone else had left, Lucy walked up to Natsu.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm just worried the rest of you might disappear on us," he replied.

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere," Lucy said. "Did Gajeel seem surlier than usual?" she asked changing the subject.

"Yeah, he did. I wonder what's wrong," Natsu answered.

 **In the security room...**

Everyone stood around the security lacrima that watched the hallway of the girl's room. Around 12:35 they saw a stout, hooded figure breaking into the girl's room, When he came back out Levy was slung over his shoulder.

"Stop the footage," Erza said. "Now can you close up on his face?"

"Sorry, no can do, the camera is zoomed in all the way," said the suspiciously large head of security, Dai.

"Well can you make the image any clearer?" asked Gray. "This is an emergency. Two of our friends are missing now and we know from this that Levy was kidnapped, meaning Lisanna probably was too."

"I'm sorry but the lacrima cannot be any clearer than it is now," Dai said.

"Let's go. This guy is obviously not much help," said Gajeel, and with that he stalked off.

 **In the boy's room again...**

"How did none of us hear that break in last night?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know but what do we do now?" Wendy asked.

"I'm going to sniff out Levy and Lisanna and beat up whoever messed with Fairy Tail," Natsu said, but Erza grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Hold on Natsu. We need to think of a better plan. We don't know what we're up against," Erza said.

"Well then, let's put a tracking device on all of the girls left and whoever this person goes after next will be our ticket to finding them," suggested Natsu.

"Yeah? And where do we get these tracking devices Flame Brain?" Gray asked.

"We need a solid plan."

"And this is a solid plan, Ice Breath. I have a tracking device on Lucy already," Natsu said.

"WHAT?! YOU PUT A TRACKING DEVICE ON ME?!" Lucy screamed.

"Well, yeah I would never forgive myself if something happened to you," Natsu answered.

"Natsu…" Lucy was speechless.

"Cause then I wouldn't have someone to break into their house, and eat their food."

"SO YOU JUST LIKE ME FOR THE APARTMENT AND FOOD!?"

"Anyway we need a better plan. Why don't we split up into teams and then go scout the area?" Erza suggested. "Jet and Droy can group up. Me, Wendy, and Gajeel, Juvia and Gray, Natsu and Lucy, and the exceeds."

"Aye sir!" Happy said.

"Sounds good to me. As long as I get to kick the butts of the jerks who messed with Fairy Tail," Natsu said, cracking his knuckles.

"Okay here's what we do, Jet and Droy take the North West, Wendy, Gajeel, and I will take the East, The Exceeds will take the North East, Gray and Juvia will take the Southern end of town, and Natsu and Lucy will take the West," Erza said. "Any questions?"

"No, Now let's get going!" Natsu said.

 **In the North West of Hargeon...**

Jet and Droy walked along the road.

"LEVY! LISANNA!" they called out.

"Where do you think they are?" Droy asked.

"I don't know, but I can use my speed to search the area quickly," Jet replied.

 **In the North East of Hargeon...**

"LISANNA! LEVY!" Happy called.

"I've already told you that's not going to work, Tomcat. If they've been kidnapped they won't be able to answer us," Carla said.

"I know but what if they escaped and can't find their way back to the hotel?" said Happy.

"That's absurd. And if they were lost they would contact us with a communication lacrima," Carla answered.

"What if they can't find a communication lacrima!" Happy shouted back.

"Would you two stop arguing! We need to focus on finding our friends," said Pantherlily, munching on a kiwi.

 **In the East of Hargeon...**

"Where do you think they are, Erza?" asked Wendy.

"I don't know but we just need to keep looking," Erza replied.

"YO SHRIMP! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Gajeel shouted.

"Gajeel, keep it down. If the kidnappers are here and they hear us they will go hide somewhere else," Erza said.

"I know. But she promised she wouldn't get hurt! She promised!" said Gajeel angrily as he punched a wall. They were caught up in their conversation, and failed to notice Wendy stopping to look into a store window.

"Gajeel, I'm sure she's fine. We just need to find her," Erza said. Just then they heard a scream.

"That sounded like Wendy!" Gajeel and Erza said in unison.

"WENDY! WHERE DID YOU GO?! WHAT HAPPENED?!" Erza called.

 **In the south of Hargeon...**

Juvia _can't believe she was paired up with Gray-sama_ Juvia thought.

"Hey Juvia! Come look at this!" Gray called from the other side of the street. He was looking at a loose board on the door of an old abandoned warehouse. "Do you think Lisanna and Levy are in there?"

"Maybe…" Juvia replied.

"I'll go in first to make sure it's safe," Gray said. As soon as he went in he heard muffled screaming.

"JUVIA!" he cried out. As he ran out the building he saw someone running away carrying Juvia. "Ice make floor!" said Gray. But the person holding Juvia was too well balanced and got away.

 **In the West of Hargeon...**

Lucy was watching Natsu from the end of the street. He looked tenser than usual.

"Hey Natsu. Is everything alright?" Lucy asked tentatively.

"Yeah," he said jerking his head back. "I mean besides the fact that Lisanna and Levy are missing, I'm great. Why do you ask?"

"You just seem really tense and worried," Lucy said.

"Well I'm not. I'm totally fine," Natsu said glancing around nervously. "Why don't we check that bakery over there."

"Wait, Natsu look!" Lucy said, pointing to a hooded figure walking towards them.

Natsu got in front of Lucy. "If you're gonna take her, you'll have to get through me first!" the fire dragon slayer growled, glaring.

"Relax, I'm not who you think I am," a familiar voice said. The person removed his hood to reveal blue hair, and a reddish tattoo under the right eye, "Although I'm a bit surprised to see you here, Natsu and Lucy."

"Jellal!" Natsu and Lucy shouted, surprised. It had been awhile since they had seen their friends from the crime fighting guild, Crime Sorcière.

"Yes it's me but could you keep your voices down? The Magic Council is still looking for me," Jellal said.

"Sure but what are you doing here in Hargeon?" Lucy asked.

"I am here because a dark guild is plotting to attack the mayor at the parade. Meredy and Ultear are here too," he said.

"Well you're wasting your time. The parade was postponed due to members of our guild assigned with protecting the mayor disappearing. We watched a security lacrima and discovered that Levy had been kidnapped so it's safe to assume Lisanna was too," Natsu said.

"You say members of your guild were assigned to protect the mayor, is Erza here too?" Jellal asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Lucy said.

"No reason…" Jellal said trailing off at the end. "I had better go look for the others."

"Ok, but just so you know Erza is in the East," Lucy mentioned. When Jellal had left Lucy and Natsu continued their search for Levy and Lisanna.

 **Back in the East of Hargeon...**

Erza heard rustling in the bushes.

"Who goes there?" Erza called.

"It's just me," Jellal said.

"Jellal! What are you doing here?" Erza asked.

"Ultear and Meredy are here too. We heard a dark guild plotting to attack the mayor at the parade, but we now know it was postponed. A piece of information I picked up from your friend Natsu," Jellal said.

"You saw Natsu and Lucy?" Erza asked.

"Yes but they said that your guild members were being kidnapped," Jellal said.

"They are. Wendy just disappeared too," Erza said. Gajeel and I split up to look for her but we haven't found her yet," Erza replied.

"I hope you find them soo-," Jellal stopped suddenly, "Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Yes. It sounded like footsteps," Erza said. I'll check the woods over there,"

"And I'll check around this building," Jellal said.

 **In the west again...**

"Natsu. Did you hear that?" Lucy asked.

"It's probably just Jellal, Ultear or Meredy," Natsu said. They decided to ignore it and continue their search. _Natsu may think it's nothing, but i'm not so sure_ Lucy thought.

"I'm gonna' go check it out anyway. Just to make sure," said Lucy.

"Alright, just come back safe. I'm going to look over there," Natsu said. _A few seconds later._

"NATSU! HELP ME!" Lucy screamed.

"LUCY! I'M COMING!" Natsu shouted. When Natsu arrived Lucy was struggling to free her arms from a man tying her up who looked surprisingly familiar.

"It's you! You're the one who put gramps in the hospital with magic deficiency syndrome!" Natsu growled.

"Yes it is I, Aria. And I am here for your little girlfriend, oh how sad," Aria said. He was pretty chubby man, with a bandage covering his eyes, and tears were always coming down his face. He found almost everything sad.

"I'M NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND!" Lucy screamed hiding her blushing face.

Natsu shouted, "Lucy is like family to me. So is everyone else in Fairy Tail, and when you mess with my family you're gonna' get burned."

"Natsu…" Lucy said.

"Fire Dragon ROAR!" Natsu yelled, breathing out a stream of fire.

"Is that so? Drain!" Aria shouted. "Oh, it's so sad! We're losing yet another powerful wizard today," Aria cried. Natsu suddenly felt like his life force was draining out of him.

"Aaaahhhh! What are you doing to me?" Natsu stuttered.

"The same thing I did to Makarov. I'm draining your magical power," said Aria. "A wizard's magic is intertwined with their lifetime, the greater a wizard's power the more devastating the drain spell will be, you have great magic power this will destroy you." Natsu collapsed and the last thing he saw before he blacked out was Lucy being dragged away by Aria.

 **Meanwhile in the East...**

Jellal heard Erza screaming.

"ERZA! I'M COMING!" he called out. When he arrived and saw Erza lying on the ground covered in bruises, he knew whoever his opponent was going to be was tough. Not many people could go head to head with Fairy Tail's Titania Erza and even fewer could win.

"Je-Jellal..." Erza said before passing out.

"Erza!" Jellal shouted.

"Well well well, and who might you be?" asked the stout man standing in front of Jellal.

"You'll pay for what you did to Erza," Jellal snarled. "I'll make you PAY!" _What am I saying?_ Jellal thought to himself _I couldn't even beat Erza. If this guy beat her there's no way I can beat him._

"You didn't answer my question. Who are you?" the man asked again.

"I am Jellal Fernandes member of the guild Crime Sorcére," replied Jellal. "Now who are _you_?"

"You can call me Dai," the stranger answered.

"Well, Dai, let me tell you something," Jellal said. "Good always wins. I've been right where you are, looking for power, but Erza and her friends taught me that I was wrong. Fairy Tail taught me I was wrong. Good _always_ comes through in the end."

Dai stood there and laughed as he said, "If good always comes through, then how come I could beat Titania Erza? Answer that for me."

Jellal attacked, and the next thing he knew he was on the ground. Dai had deflected his attack with ease. The battle raged on, Dai seemed to get stronger with every attack. _How is this possible? I'm almost out of magic energy. Wait there's one last spell I can use._ Jellal put both hands in front of him, the base of each hand touching, and his palms facing Dia. The fingers of his bottom hand were spread out, where only the middle and pointer finger of his top hand were out. "May the seven stars be your judgment," he said. His magic was a rare one, and a forgotten one; Heavenly body magic. "GRAND CHARIOT!" seven beams of light shone down from the sky around Dia, forming a constellation. Suddenly the area blew up.

After the dust settled the surrounding street and buildings were destroyed and Dia was on the ground looking almost dead. Jellal fell to his knees, _that's the last of my magic, but I have to get Erza to the others._ He struggled to his feet and limped over to Erza. He picked her up and set her up on his back so it looked he was giving her a piggy back ride. He slowly moved his way to the others.

 **After everyone was rounded up outside the hotel...**

"Hey flame brain, you there?" Gray said shaking Natsu's unconscious body. The others were standing around him looking worried, and Carla was attending to Erza and Jellal's injuries as best as she could.

Natsu bolted up, "LUCY!" He looked around, "Where's Lucy? Last thing I saw she was being dragged away!"

"She was kidnapped, same as Juvia," Gray said. "Ultear told us what happened. She saw everything and caught your magic when Aria used that drain spell on you. She's out looking for Lucy, Juvia, and Wendy now."

"THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!" Natsu yelled slamming his fist into a wall. "If only I could have protected her better…" Natsu said with tears streaming down his face and splashing on the cobblestone streets.

"It's not your fault Natsu. He got Juvia from me, and Wendy from Gajeel and Erza too. And Erza is out of commision thanks to Dai. Jellal said that the one who beat up Erza said to call him Dai," Gray said.

"Dai. That name sounds familiar…" Natsu said trailing off. "Wasn't that the name of the fat security guard who showed us the security lacrima?"

"Yeah, I think it was," Happy said.

"Tomcat I hate to say it but I think you're right!" Carla said.

"I think so too!" Pantherlily added.

"So the security guard is working for a dark guild," Natsu said.

"Meredy what do you think we should do?" Gray asked.

"I think you should come up with a plan yourself," Meredy said.

"Sorry about her, she's cross that we're staying in one place longer than we usually do. I have to make up for not getting to Erza sooner. If I had she wouldn't be in this condition," Jellal said. Erza still had not woken up after Jellal brought her back to the group,

"I have a plan," said Droy. Everyone turned their heads to look at Droy, surprised, Droy was not usually the type to think of a plan. "Jet and I will stay behind to look after Erza then you find their base and attack with all our strength. When we've gotten rid of the dark guild members, we save the girls."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Natsu said. "I need to tell Lucy I'm sorry I didn't protect her well enough." Everyone stood in silence for a few seconds. It was unusual for Natsu to beat himself up over something like this for so long.

"I think we might know where their base is," Jellal said breaking the silence. "Crime Sorcière was scouting the area and we found a secret door inside of a barn. I went in and saw hooded men standing around talking about attacking the mayor at an upcoming parade. Since Aria and Dai are targeting the wizards hired to protect the mayor, I bet they're in that dark guild I heard plotting. I'll show you where it is," he said as he struggled to stand.

"You should stay here, you're injured," Meredy said.

"No I must do this to help them. They've helped us before, it's time to repay that debt."

 **Later in the abandoned barn...**

"The trap door is somewhere on the floor in here," Jellal said.

"I think I found something," Happy said.

"Happy you found it! The trap door!" Natsu said. "Great job little buddy! Now help me open that door." They pushed and pushed but couldn't get the door to open.

"Idiots. Maybe you should try pulling it," Gajeel said. Natsu and Happy tried pulling, and the door swung wide open revealing a narrow passageway.

"How did you know that would work?" Natsu asked Gajeel.

"Uh cause pushing it didn't? Why else?" Gajeel said back. "Idiot," he muttered again as an afterthought.

"Ohhhhhhhh," Natsu and Happy said in unison.

"Now let's go kick some butt!" Natsu exclaimed while lighting his fist on fire. Everyone followed Natsu and Gajeel down the passage.

"Stop here, Fire Face," Gray whispered.

"Why?" Natsu asked loudly causing a bunch of wizards jumped out at them from the shadows in the room ahead.

"Because we needed to see if the coast was clear!" Gray said. "Now we have to fight them all!"

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu shouted as Gajeel shouted, "Iron Dragon Claw!" the group of five wizards went down easily.

"That was too easy. These guys are wimps compared to Aria," Natsu said.

"It seemed a little too easy to get through that passage though," Gray said.

"Whatever. Let's go save the girls!" Natsu said running off.

"Salamander! Wait!" Gajeel called. Of course, Natsu doesn't listen to anybody so he just kept running.

"What do we do now?" Meredy asked.

"Follow him obviously," Gray said. "Knowing him he's going to rush into things and get into trouble."

"LUCY!" Natsu shouted, when he came across another hallway. Natsu decided to try that hallway. "LUCY!" he called again.

"Natsu? Is that you?" a familiar blue haired mage asked.

"Levy! Do you know where the others are?" Natsu asked.

"No, but I can help you look if you can get me out of here." Levy said but Natsu was already gone screaming "LUCY!" again.

"Natsu wait!" called Jellal with Gajeel, Gray, Meredy, and the exceeds behind him.

"Look! It's Levy!" Gray shouted.

"You guys keep following Natsu and looking for the others. I'll stay here and work on getting Levy out," Gajeel said.

"Fine by me metal head," Gray said leading the others away. They were soon out of sight.

"Thank you Gajeel!" Levy said.

"Don't get used to it," Gajeel said, "BUT DON'T GO SCARING ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!" he shouted his face turning red.

"I'll try not to," Levy said blushing slightly, but she still backed away a little.

"Now let's get you out of here," Gajeel said.

 **Meanwhile Natsu is running down the halls...**

Natsu turned down another corner where he found Lucy sitting in a cell.

"Lucy!" Natsu cried. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. If I had protected you better you wouldn't be here." he said with tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry."

"Natsu… It wasn't your fault," Lucy said. "It was mine. If I'd been stronger you wouldn't have needed to protect me. I'm just… just to w-weak," she buried her face into her knees and started crying.

Natsu busted into the cell and ran over to Lucy, hugging her, "Lucy don't cry, you're not weak. You're one of our strongest. You have 10 out of the 12 Zodiac keys, you saved Loke, you helped us get passed Erigor's wind barrier, you helped us on Tenrou when we needed to defeat that weird chubby guy with the voodoo doll. Now that was funny, the Lucy fire, hee hee."

Lucy looked up smiling, "Yeah, I guess that was kind of funny. Thanks Natsu. Thanks for always being there for me," she hugged him back.

"You don't have to worry, I'll always be there for you, you're important to me. I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

Lucy was blushing, she understood the deeper meaning of these words. Even if he didn't relize what he implied by them, she still felt touched by his words. "Thanks Natsu, you're important to me too." She had finally realized something. The whole time she was in that cell all she could think about was Natsu.

"Lucy I- I realized something while you were gone… I can't think straight when you're hurt. All I want to do is punch anyone who tries to hurt you. I feel sad when I'm not with you... " he turned red. _What if this ruins our friendship? What if she doesn't like me the way I like her?_ "Lucy I l-"

"Hey flame brain there you are. Nice you found L-" he noticed where they were and that they were hugging. Natsu looked annoyed. "Uhhhhh did I interrupt something?"

Natsu wanted to say, "yes" but instead he said, "No, I was just apologizing to Lucy." He and Lucy both stood up.

"Let's go find the others then," Gray said.

"I know where everyone else is except for Levy," Lucy said.

"Metal head is with Levy," said Gray.

"Ok it's good to know she's safe," Lucy replied.

"Follow me, Jellal went this way," Gray said.

 **When everyone joined up again except Levy and Gajeel...**

Natsu looked at Lucy.

"Where's Lisanna, Juvia, and Wendy?" he asked.

"We haven't found them yet Pyro," Gray said.

"I was talking to Lucy, Ice Princess," Natsu retorted.

"Well if I'm remembering correctly Juvia is a few halls down, and Lisanna is close by with Wendy in the same hallway," Lucy said.

"Let's split up and go get different people," Jellal suggested. "Gray and the exceeds go to free Juvia, Natsu and Lucy will go to free Lisanna and Wendy. Meredy and I will go find Gajeel and Levy."

"Aye sir!" said Happy.

 **With Levy and Gajeel...**

"Hey Gajeel," Levy said. They were walking down a dark hallway; Levy providing light due to her solid script magic (magic that has words that become what they are.) and Gajeel following his sense of smell. (all dragon slayers have heightened senses.)

"What is it Shrimp?" he asked. He tried not to look down. When they first started walking he had smelled blood mixed in with her scent. He had also noticed that she had a number of injuries. Just thinking about it made him beyond mad.

"You seem on edge. Is something wrong?" she asked, concerned.

 _Man that was cute- wait no, don't think like that.._ "No I'm fine," he said gruffly.

"Please don't lie to me. I know you're upset. You look more grumpy than usual." She was met with silence. She worried she had upset him, completely unaware the dragon slayer's thoughts were a jumble of emotions. "Gajeel?" she was met with more silence. She started to tear up. "I-I'm sorry if I upset you I-I just… but please just talk to me," she started crying.

Gajeel looked down, alarmed to see Levy crying, "Hey wait please don't cry! I'm sorry Levy, I just got lost in thought. I'm sorry I should be more open to you. I just… I just don't see how you could stand to be near me after how we met… I've been trying to make up for it, but I just feel like I'm losing you instead." They stopped walking.

Levy looked up, he had called her by her name, "'Gajeel….. I've already forgiven you. I've beyond forgiven you in fact I've fallen in l-" she slapped her hand over her mouth. While she hadn't finished the last word, Gajeel already knew what she was going to say.

He pulled her into a hug, and buried his head into her hair, "Levy, I've been doing all this because…. I feel the same, you've been the one to put a crack in my iron heart. I've fallen in love with you too."

 **With Gray, Juvia, and the exceeds...**

"Juvia!" Gray called when he saw her sitting in the prison cell at the end of the hall.

"Gray-sama is that you?!" Juvia cried. "Juvia knew you would come to save her!"

"Juvia, I'm sorry!" Gray burst out.

"For what?" Juvia asked confused.

"I should have been paying more attention. If I had I could have stopped this from happening," Gray said looking down.

"It's not your fault it's Atlas Nightmare's fault," Juvia said.

"Who is Atlas Nightmare?" Gray asked.

"That's the name of the dark guild who captured all of us," Juvia replied.

"They are going down!" Gray growled. Gray froze all of the bars on the cell door and broke them down. Juvia walked out of the cell limping.

"Juvia! What happened?" Gray asked frantically.

"Nothing," she answered.

"Nothing?! You're limping! What did they do?!" Gray exclaimed.

"Juvia just hurt her leg trying to escape. It's nothing, really," Juvia answered before her leg gave and she collapsed.

"Juvia!" Gray shouted. "Here, I'll carry you on my back." Gray said as he lifted Juvia onto his back piggyback style. Juvia blushed and fainted.

"You _like_ each other!" Happy jidded.

 **With Natsu and Lucy...**

"Natsu," Lucy said.

"Yeah Luce?" Natsu replied.

"What were you going to say earlier? Before Gray interrupted us," Lucy asked.

"I-" Natsu started, blushing, "I wasn't saying anything."

"Are you sure about that?" Lucy asked. "It sounded like 'I l-' and then you were cut off."

"Ohhh. That. I was going to say... " Natsu thought for a moment, _What if this ruins our easy friendship?_ "That I like pizza!" Natsu said blushing furiously.

"Ok. I like pizza too," Lucy said. _I know that's not what he really was going to say, I'll ask him later._ She thought as Natsu was thinking _I've got to tell her the truth, she obviously doesn't believe me._ Just then they came across Wendy's cell.

"Natsu! Lucy!" Wendy called out.

"Open gate of the lion! Loke!" Lucy said using her gate key. Loke was the false name Leo the lion used when he was banished from the spirit world. He joined Fairy Tail and later was saved from dying by Lucy and is now able to be Leo but everyone still calls him Loke.

"Hello there Lucy, you're looking as beautiful as usual," Loke said, with a wink.

Natsu punched him in the face and sent him flying into a wall.

"Natsu what was that for?!" Lucy screamed running over to help her friend up.

"Lucy!? Is everything okay? I thought I heard you yell at Natsu!" Wendy said. Her cell was a closed in one, no door just walls. Solid walls, except for a small window, too high for Wendy to see out of.

"Nothing just Natsu being an idiot and wanting to pick a fight with Loke. Alright Wendy, stand back, Loke's gonna break down the wall."

"REGULUS IMPACT!" Loke yelled while punching the wall. The wall crumbled.

"I could have done that faster and easier, you didn't need to call on him," Natsu grumbled, slouching so his scarf covered his mouth.

 _Oooooo someone's jealous_ Loke thought. "Well I'll be going now, I have a date to go to," he said. He glowed and then disappeared with a pop. Wendy rushed out of her cell and gave Lucy a hug.

"Lucy! Why are you covered in bruises?!" Wendy cried.

"Not all of us have heal super quickly you know," Lucy said dryly, wincing slightly at Wendy's hug.

"Let me heal you!" Wendy said using her unnamed healing spell.

"Thanks Wendy," Lucy said. Natsu seemed unusually grumpy. _Maybe I should talk to him_ "Hey Wendy? Do you mind scouting ahead? I want to talk to Natsu privately." Wendy nodded and walked off. Natsu sat down on the ground his scarf covering everything up to his eyes. "Hey Natsu are you ok?" she said sitting next to him. It was cold there and Natsu, being pretty much made of fire, gave off lots heat. Almost subconsciously Lucy leaned on him.

"What's going on between you and Loke? Every time you summon him he has some flirty compliment to give you."

Lucy was shocked, he never asked stuff like this, and moreover he knew she didn't like it, "Natsu… you know there's nothing between him and me. And so what, even if there was why would you care? I have free choice don't I? That's why I left home, because I didn't have free choice."

Natsu sighed, "I'm sorry, I just… get angry when I see other guys…. flirting with you. I think it's because… I- I," he turned red.

Lucy giggled knowing what he was trying to say. For awhile now she had realized she had feelings for him, so knowing he had feelings for her…. "You what?" she said smirking.

Natsu blushed even harder, "I love you." He mumbled.

Lucy had heard him but… "What was that? You what?"

Natsu felt his face burning, "I SAID I LOVE YOU!" He then buried his face in his scarf. _What if I screwed it up? What if-_ he then felt Lucy's familiar arms wrap around him as Lucy said, "I love you too."

Just then Wendy came back into the room. "Hey guys! I found Lisanna's cell-…"

Both the Celestial Wizard and the Dragon Slayer jumped away from each other, both blushing.

"Oh uh Wow that's heh heh great uh heh heh heh..!" Natsu said nervously.

"Ya let's uh go uh save her heeheeh," Lucy said with nervous laughter. Wendy just looked at them like _are you okay? Do you need help?_

"Are you two alright?" Wendy asked.

"Yeah we're fine! Why wouldn't we be?!" Natsu said with his voice rising in pitch at the end of each sentence.

"Yeah we're great," Lucy said.

"Well if you're sure…" Wendy said.

"Yep. Yes. Totally sure." Lucy said.

"Let's go save Lisanna…" Natsu said. When they got to Lisanna's cell they found Erigor waiting for them.

"Wait, he wasn't here before!" Wendy cried.

"Erigor! But I already beat you twice! And Wendy beat you once too!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Yes, well, I've gotten a lot stronger since the last time you beat me," Erigor said.

"What about when I beat you after that?" Wendy asked.

"That was a fluke. You just gave me my memories back," Erigor said. "Anyway I'm going to defeat you all at once!" Erigor exclaimed.

"Fire Dragon…"

"Sky Dragon…"

"ROAR" Natsu and Wendy said in unison.

Erigor flew backwards. "Nice try! STORM BRINGER!" he shouted.

Wendy jumped in front of the attack and ate the wind.

"I forgot she could do that," Erigor said.

"Sky Dragon ROAR!" Wendy shouted. And with that Erigor was knocked out. Lucy had freed Lisanna during the battle and the two girls were now hugging.

"Thank you Lucy! You too Wendy. Oh and I guess you too Natsu," Lisanna said. Then she whispered in Natsu's ear, "So, Natsu have you confessed to Lucy yet?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Natsu replied blushing furiously. "Now let's go find the others."

"I can't wait to tell Mira!" Lisanna squealed.

"Don't you dare," Natsu growled.

Lisanna giggled, "Oh Natsu… there's no need to be embarrassed."

Meanwhile Lucy seemed to be understanding the situation. "Hey guys? We should get going."

Lisanna whispered in Natsu's ear, "Saved by your girlfriend." Wendy just looked extremely confused.

 **Back at the hotel...**

Erza opened her eyes, her head hurt like crazy.

"Erza you're finally awake!" said Jet, walking over to her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts and I can still feel the pain of my injuries. Do you know where the others are?" she asked. More importantly she wanted to ask about a certain person who had saved her. It made her think back to when she was a kid in the Tower of Heaven when Jellal had saved her back then too. "Bring me to them."

"But Erza you're not strong enough yet," Jet said.

"I'm fine. And besides I need to help them, and warn them about Aria, Dia said somethings about him during our fight," she said.

"They already know. Natsu had his magic drained by Aria when Lucy was kidnapped-" Jet started.

"They got Lucy! What happened to Natsu? That spell can be devastating, remember what happened to the Master?" Erza said frantically.

"It's okay Erza. Natsu's fine. Ultear collected his powers and Natsu got them back before anything really bad happened to him," Jet said. "And everyone just went looking for Lucy, Levy, Lisanna, Juvia, and Wendy."

"I still have to go help them. Aria is a lot stronger than he was when we faced Phantom," Erza said.

"Stronger?! That guy was already a powerhouse! How could he have gotten stronger?!" Jet exclaimed.

"That's why I have to go help them. I at least have to warn them. Please bring me to them." Erza pleaded.

"Ok," Jet gave in. "Droy stay here in case the others come back while we're gone."

 **When the others grouped up again...**

"Hey Scrap Metal! Ice Princess! We found Lisanna and Wendy!" Natsu said with a grin.

"That's great! I found Juvia!" Gray said.

"Well I've got Shrimp here," Gajeel said resting his arm on Levy's head.

"That's great but now we need to focus on getting out," Jellal said.

"Aye sir!" Happy said.

Just then Jet came speeding down the hallway with Erza.

"Look out!" Jet called.

"Erza! What are you doing here?!" Natsu said. "You took too much of a beating from Dai in your last fight to be here right now!"

"There's something you should know about Aria. He's a lot stronger than he was when we faced phantom. And back then I could barely beat him. Apparently he took out the wizard who held number 1 on the ten wizard saints," Erza said. Everyone stared in silence.

"Then what do we do?" Gray asked.

"We go kick his butt!" Natsu said.

"NO!" Erza said. "He's too powerful! You'll be destroyed! Especially if Dai is with him."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth Aria appeared with Dai. Juvia got off of Gray's back.

"Run!" Erza screamed. But it was too late, Dai had already trapped them in a magical barrier.

"No I don't think you'll be going anywhere," Dai said.

"Oh it's so sad. Many great wizards are about to be lost," Aria said while crying.

"You're still cryin' like a baby," Gajeel said.

"Why Aria?" Juvia asked. "Why are you doing this?"

"I can't believe that two members of Phantom would stoop so low as to join Fairy Tail," Aria said in disgust.

"Juvia can't believe you would attack people who were your comrades," Juvia said.

"Well believe it," Dai said "Because he did."

"You left me no choice," Aria said while still crying, "You sided with the enemy!"

"The enemy?! We attacked Fairy Tail first! If anything they should be angry with us! But they forgave Gajeel and Juvia, they welcomed us with open arms, they've been nothing but kind to us!" Juvia shouted. "If you think Fairy Tail is your enemy then, Juvia says we're your enemy too. We are PROUD to be members of Fairy Tail! Juvia used to think that only the people in Phantom accepted her, then Juvia joined Fairy Tail and felt true acceptance for the first time ever! You may have willingly worked with Juvia, but Juvia never felt like part of a family. That's how Fairy Tail treats every single member. Like FAMILY!" Juvia was enraged, she loved Fairy Tail, more than she loved anything (except Gray).

"Well that's too bad because I want revenge on Erza Scarlet's guild. They destroyed Phantom and she was the only one who ever beat me," Aria said, sobbing now.

"That's what this is about?!" Erza cried out. "Me beating you one time, that's what this is about?! That's such a petty reason. But if it will save my friends I'm willing to hand myself over." Erza could see Aria was too powerful to fight with and make it out with everyone alive and in one piece.

"ERZA NO YOU CAN'T!" Jellal, Natsu, and Gray yelled, while the girls held them back and started crying. Erza was like a big sister to them all, where Jellal was Erza's first friend and… lover.

"It's okay. I'll be fine because I know you will all be safe," Erza said quietly. "I need to do this to make sure you all escape."

"No you don't! We can fight them together!" Natsu shouted. "We can't lose you. I didn't let you sacrifice yourself for us in the Tower of Heaven, what makes you think I'll let you now?"

"Lucy, take care of him for me ok? And girls, it's your job to keep the boys in line." The girls were still crying but nodded, unlike the boys they could understand why Erza would do this, why she felt she needed to sacrifice herself.

"Natsu, you'll let me do this because, well, this time, I'm not dying. I won't. Here's something for you to remember. The place that has moved on, but holds memories will always be important. Now Jet, Jellal, get them out of here. You too Happy, Carla, and Lily."

"Awwwww. It's so sad. But I'll agree to your terms Erza Scarlet. If you come with me your friends can go free," Aria said still crying. "Dai, lift the barrier." When the barrier was lifted, everyone stood still.

"Go!" Erza shouted. Jet took off with Levy and Juvia, while the exceeds carried their partners.

"Erza!" Natsu shouted as Happy dragged him out, "Don't you dare die on us!"

"I won't Natsu!" Erza called.

"Goodbye Erza. I'll come back for you someday," Jellal said before leaving with Meredy. Erza smiled knowing there was truth in his words.

The last thing the others saw of her was Erza facing the army of enemies, tears down her cheeks and a smile on her face…


End file.
